PANASONIC PV-DV852
Written: Sep 06 '02
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Pros: Excellent picture, good low light, excellent ergonomics.
Cons: Can't think of any.
The Bottom Line: Bottom Line?
You don't need to hesitate with this one. Read the main review.
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| grn0202's Full Review: Panasonic PV-DV852 Mini DV Camcorder |
The purpose of this feedback to help others in the same way that I was helped by earlier hands on reviews by purchasers.
I am VERY happy with this camcorder, Panasonic DV852.
I waited a long time before pulling the trigger on this one and am happy I did. My previous unit is a 12+ year old vintage Panasonic VHS-Q shoulder mount which was a very high quality unit at the time. Excellent low light, colors, external controls, excellent external directional microphone.
I used the Pana MX-8 reviews in addition to the very few 852 reviews that I could find as my main input source. The MX-8 is the European unit made for use with the PAL TV system (versus NTSC system used in North America and Japan). It was described as being the same camera except for a 3 inch LCD versus the 2.5 inch unit that the 852 has.
Based on a bad experience that I had with a ‘pre-digital’ era top of the line Hi8 Sony about 4 years ago (not close to my old Pana in color, low light or general design), I have been very wary.
My main want was a relatively small reliable unit with good low light. Photo capability was not a priority. I had my doubts based on the size of the lens, however the results are well above my acceptable limit. And believe me, I have been looking at a lot of video from this camera in many different filming situation over the last week and a half. I almost bought the Canon 100mc 1 year ago but was scared off by reports of problems with its tape handling. Also almost bought a 3 chip Pana MX3000 from Japan but couldn’t get past the higher invested value for my needs, warranty work only in Japan and the Japanese menus.
NOTE: THE THREADS FOR MOUNTING A FILTER OR ADD ON LENS ARE AN ODD SIZE. I TRIED A 49mm FILTER WHICH WAS TOO SMALL. A 52mm FILTER WAS TOO LARGE. NEED TO CHECK WITH PANASONIC FOR CORRECT SIZE.
Summary Items:
Price: Purchased from Buydig.com for $959 + shipping.
Picture clarity / auto focus: Excellent. The trueness of a played back zoomed-in image is way above expectations. I use the S-video output option. I have been using Fuji DVM60 tapes which have been highly recommended by others.
Classical horizontal versus vertical physical shape: I prefer horizontal. I like the ability to cradle the unit in my left hand while recording via the viewed image on the LCD. I also find that I have greater picture stability with this position when zoomed to 10X. I don’t believe this is as easy to do with a vertical format camera.
Size: Like the size. This is a camcorder that you will feel comfortable taking anywhere. It's about 3.5 x 3.5 x 7.8 inches.
Optical image stabilizer: Excellent. Note that this is a true 'optical' stabilizer and not the 'electronic' version. It was amazing how much picture shake I had at 10x magnification with the stabilizer turned off.
Low light: Very happy considering the purpose for which it was purchased which is general indoor / outdoor family use. Indoor home use works well in automatic and better with the manual program mode set to low light. The slowest shutter speed is 1/60 of a second. Not sure yet how the exposure control is changed when set to the manual low light setting. Colors stay very true.
Camera controls and ease of use: This was the big bonus for me. I could not find this camera locally and therefore was unprepared for what I believe is the excellent design thought process that went into its ergonomics. Almost all of the functions that you might need to have immediate access to are available through a simple / common sense physical interface on the outside of the camera (back-light compensation, manual white balance / shutter speed / aperture and manual focus). I have a feeling that they could not have accomplished this as effectively with a vertical format camera or one with a smaller body. I love the little jog stick appendage that is used for controlling the VCR functions. It works with a small thumb wheel to provide variable forward and reverse playback speeds of 1/5x-20x. The setup is excellent for reviewing video and fixing the tape in the exact location where you want to start recording.
Auto White Balance: In general, seems to do very well. However, I was in my basement checking the low light and noticed that the light green pool table cover appeared light blue on the LCD when I panned from an incandescent area to one illuminated primarily with fluorescent light. The camera corrected itself after I pointed the front up at a fluorescent lighting fixture. I need to learn more about how the AWB operates in different situations.
Sound: The sound quality is good however the microphone is not as discriminating as the excellent direction mic on my old unit. There is no pickup of tape transport noise that you may have seen reported as a problem with other camcorders. The unit has a 2 channel 12bit or 1 channel 16bit recording option.
Best regards and Happy Shopping!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 959
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Epinions.com ID:
grn0202
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Reviews written: 3
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